How to improve patient engagement and your bottom line

October 7, 2020

Article updated on July 16, 2024.

There’s no doubt that the primary role of a pharmacist is the compounding and dispensing of prescription drugs. However, as government regulations change, the concept of “clinical pharmacies” is growing across Canada, allowing pharmacists to contribute to our health with a whole portfolio of services including immunization clinics, emergency contraceptives, medication management and prescribing for minor ailments. In order to provide these additional services, pharmacists need to adopt technology solutions to drive efficiency in their workflows.

Technologies also exist to help patients manage their health more efficiently when it comes to prescriptions.

While digital health solutions have traditionally connected healthcare providers, the focus is shifting to extending connectivity between patients and their primary care team – which today includes pharmacists.

Pharmacists tend not to shy away from technology. In fact, pharmacy technology helps 42,500 Canadian pharmacists fill over 750 million prescriptions each year, and ensure the right prescriptions are dispensed for the right conditions at the right time.

Patient portals create a win-win situation

Mobile and online patient portals like PharmaConnect™ give patients the ability to actively manage the prescriptions of all family members – even pets – from one account. Rather than calling or going to the pharmacy and waiting for prescriptions to be prepared, patients can submit refill requests and new prescriptions from their mobile device or online and pick them up when they’re ready -- all with just a few taps or clicks of the mouse.

By empowering patients with this capability, pharmacists can spend more one-on-one time with patients, asking questions about how the prescriptions are being tolerated and understanding any new issues or concerns.

Barry Manuel is the owner and head pharmacist of St. Alban's PharmaChoice, serving the needs of the community in St. Alban's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Barry and his team started promoting the PharmaConnect service to their patient base in October 2019 and within a few months, 134 patients signed up for the service. He has since experienced an estimated decrease of 5 to10 per cent in phone calls. “We field many calls over an 8-hour period, so it can amount of a lot of time saved.” These time savings free Barry and his team to focus on other patient services.

« Setting up PharmaConnect was fast and easy – for both my team and for our patients. Our team benefits from a streamlined prescription workflow, and our patients gain the convenience of having prescription details right at their fingertips. »

There’s no doubt that the younger residents in Barry’s community adopted the app quickly, but his senior patients are also using it with the help of family members or caregivers. The benefits are undeniable: